The Elms Hotel & Spa

recommendations when I was clueless, and so much more, Tori and Lacee always made me feel at ease and like I was in VERY good hands...which I was :) Some of my top PROS: -Venue offers location for rehearsal dinner (though we ended up using Dubious Claims Brewery- I wish we would've hosted it at The Elms restaurant) and obviously a place for guests to stay. It was so. nice for everyone to just be able to stumble up to their rooms after the reception. -Many of my guests took advantage of the spa and LOVED how that was an option. -Hair and makeup provided by the spa was GREAT! I was definitely worried bout this part, but was beyond thrilled with how I looked :) Hair and makeup came to my bridal suite which was sooo nice. -The food was great (though a little pricey for a meal, I must admit), but they were willing to work with us to create a custom meal (butternut squash ravioli!) at a very affordable rate and probably would have created additional lower priced meals to offer if we requested. -Most set-up and all clean-up was done by Elms staff. This allowed for my guests to just enjoy the day and not worry about setting up! -Decorations - LOVE that the Elms provided candles, votives, table numbers, all linens and more! CON: (really only one I can think worth even mentioning!) -The room block was a little tricky to navigate and probably the most stressful part. From estimating how many rooms will be needed to bugging my guests to book about 1 month before the wedding (before the block became inactive) was tough. Guests had to call and speak to someone to book, when most people just wanted to book online. DESPITE this con, Tori and Lacee helped me through the process and kept me very up to date and were always available to chat. Overall- I fully recommend The Elms to all brides to be!! Its a special place with lots to offer and a staff that will truly to whatever it takes to make your day stress-free and amazing.

ul and the food was amazing. We loved the fact that everything was at one place and we didn’t have to coordinate much outside of the venue. Thanks again to Tori and her team for making my wedding day absolutely amazing!

everything go smoothly, and made sure every detail was right in the planning process. The day of was amazing! Everything went off without a problem and all of our staff for the night was extremely nice and was willing to do anything to make the night better! The only problem we had was the front desk. when guest called in they were put on hold and they never picked back up and with the checkin some guests had a problem and recieved a different price from our block rooms. They were in the process of switching to the Hyatt so I'm not sure If that was the cause of the problem but it still caused an inconvenience.

lly fell in love with the venue for a few reasons. 1. It's a one stop shop. Venue, bar, food, and hotel for your guest. My husbands entire family is out of state. We knew we needed a space that either offered a shuttle or better yet, we could party all night and then find our rooms, which is exactly what all of our guest did. The food was amazing. Tori worked with us to create a custom menu of my husband and I's favorite foods.The guest raved about how wonderful the food was! Which is all any bride can hope for since the catering was cooking for 250 people. The bars (yes, we have two staffed bars!) were great! Again, we got to build the menu of exactly what we wanted. It was amazing! One bummer with respect to the bar was that we received feedback from several guest that a bartender was rather instant on tips before serving guest. Even from the groom! So that made guest , and us, feel a bit uncomfortable. It just upset me a bit. The second reason we loved The Elms was the space and size. Our families are huge and everyone fit comfortably in both ballrooms. After the ceremony in the smaller ballroom, the guest moved to the Grand ballroom. Not having to drive to a reception hall was so nice! The guest really appreciated it! Finally, the staff was out of this world. The wedding wouldn't have happened with Tori and her team. She answered hundreds (not kidding) of questions, they helped set up and take down decorations, provided assistance when needed, and everything in between. Tori alone is reason enough to book The Elms for your wedding. You're getting a beautiful venue + a wedding coordinator all in one! A few side notes. Our guest did have trouble booking there rooms. Often they were told no block existed when it did. Some family never got through and had to book a separate hotel. Which was upsetting. I would consider myself to be a detailed and organized person. I really appreciated the fact that every meeting we had was documented and shortly after was emailed to me. It really helped me stay on track and know what I needed to do. The communication was great and really fast! The Elms also offers a shuttle. We used it the day before to take family and friends to the local golf course. The driver was SO nice and on time. It was a great perk and a fun way to spend time with family. The only other negative was during dinner. It was late being served and the bridal party (bride & groom included) & parents were not served first. Which put us behind on our timeline. Decor! The Elms has SO many decor items they let you use! It was such a weight lifted to have so many things provided and set up for me. The spa! Brides, you HAVE to book a spa day! My girls and I did this the Thursday before the wedding. It was the most wonderful, relaxing, & fun day ever. We felt like queens! We can't wait to go back! For us, we wanted our family and friends to feel loved the entire wedding weekend. Having everyone together at The Elms made that possible. If you at all considering The Elms, you have to at least tour the space and talk with Tori. She's a wedding goddess and will really do everything she can to help your day come together. We can't wait to go back and enjoy everything all over!

hrough the venue but it was just as good as the tasting (which blew us away!). They helped our day go off without a problem and exceeded our expectations! Would recommend them to anyone looking in the greater KC area!

have to supply many decorations as The Elms was more than willing to let us use everything they owned at no additional cost to us. The staff completed all of the set-up and take-down the day of the wedding and transported our gifts to our hotel room for us. It was such a relief to have everything taken care of so we could fully enjoy our day! Tori, the wedding coordinator, was such a pleasure to work with! She was kind, professional, helpful, and responded quickly to our emails. She was there with us on our wedding day making sure everything went as planned and went above and beyond to meet our requests. We met with her several times throughout the planning process and she went out of her way to meet when it was convenient for us, as many times as we wanted. She is in charge of A LOT of weddings and is very very busy, yet I felt like I was her priority. I also cannot speak highly enough of the rest of The Elms staff! From the front desk, to the bartenders, to the banquet team members, everyone was incredible to work with! We felt very special and very spoiled by the staff the weekend of the wedding! The ONLY negatives throughout our experience were: 1. We were mislead in the beginning about who would be in charge of our wedding. We initially met with Lacee and she told us she would be running the show, however, we never saw her again. We were upset at first but we quickly got over it after we got to know Tori! 2. Some of our guests had trouble booking rooms in our room block. I spoke with Tori about this and she immediately took care of the issue and (again) went above and beyond to accommodate our guests. Overall, if I had to go back and plan our wedding again, I would definitely have it at The Elms! It was such a beautiful, perfect day!

t above and beyond to ensure that everything went according to plan. Tori really communicates with the bride to make sure all details are in order prior to the wedding, which is so helpful, especially for us brides who like to be in-the-know and involved in all decisions. We had our ceremony in the Regent Room and then moved to the Grand Ballroom for our reception, and both locations were stunning. I could not have asked for a more perfect day and would absolutely recommend The Elms for a wedding!

nce. Those things include the following: Many of the staff at the front desk were wonderful; however, several of our guests had difficulty booking in our reserved block and getting the discounted rate with the staff. Also, many of our guests were not provided the welcome bags that the desk staff were supposed to give out, even when the guests asked about them. We spent a lot of money on the bags, so that was disappointing. Finally, we, and our guests had significant problems with our key cards for our rooms. They kept being deactivated. During our wedding reception I needed to change my clothes but I was locked out of my room due to this key card issue. At the same time the Elms said their key card machine wasn’t working. Consequently I missed 45 minutes of my own wedding reception dealing with this issue.

day. The Elms was the first venue we visited after getting engaged and it was also the last. We knew instantly that they offered everything we were looking for (ceremony/reception in same location, historic/classic vibe, a getaway feel). The Elms checked all those boxes. Tori was an excellent communicator. Even with the small hiccups that occurred along the way she answered questions, calmed fears and fixed problems. I would choose The Elms again in a heartbeat. One of the most lovely things during our 4 day stay for our wedding was meeting a handful of other couples of all ages that had been married there and were back visiting. How fun is that? We are hearing so many compliments from our guests on the food, the venue, the staff - all of it. We had a brunch at the hotel the morning after the wedding and it was incredible. They reused my centerpieces from the night before and it was so nice to get to enjoy them for that extra time. I used the spa for hair and make up and would recommend them to any Elms bride. Our day was absolutely perfect. If you are a KC bride that wants a destination feel without having to travel far away please consider The Elms!

fell in love with the one stop shop and her bubbly, classy personality. We were sold with the venue already! We also won a free catered breakfast and when I went to claim the prize they said The Elms was out of the catering district & Lacee picked it up and brought it to the room the day of my wedding! Once we decided to book we worked very close with Tori Foster. Tori is also very bubbly and classy But beyond that she did everything possible to make my day 100% perfect. She met with us many times to make sure the centerpieces, table decor, table covers, chair covers, food, & the set up was perfect. If there were any questions at all she didn't hesitate to email or call to ask a question just to make sure it was the way I wanted it. I could not have asked for anything more with their services. If Tori was not available Lacee was. They were very easy to get ahold of and replied quickly. They knew we had a tight budget and worked with us to make sure everything fit into our budget. The staff did the complete set up and break down of the ballroom, they served all the food and were very professional and polite. Onto the food... it was delicious! The chicken was very tender and juicy and you could tell it was brined. Everything was very flavorful and delicious. Onto our room... can you say AAAHHHMAZING! We got ready in our room the morning of the wedding and the hair dressers came up to our room and did all of our hair! Flower girl, bride, mother of bride & 4 brides maids. When my husband and I returned to the room it was spotless. That's with all us girls in there and the free breakfast. Think of all that hair spray and makeup and clothing! Just imagine! They did such a wonderful job on our hair also! The breakfast didnt come with silverware and plates and they were quick to bring stuff up for us to eat on. We had humungous chocolate covered strawberries in our room with a special gift left from lacee and tori. The suite was included in the package. When I say this was a one stop shop I mean it! The hot tub outside was so wonderful to chill in the morning after the wedding. If my bougie husband was overly pleased I'm sure you will be too! Best day of my life

with little to no stress involved in ANY of the decision making or planning process, The Elms is the venue for you! From the initial meet and greet, they worked within our budget the entire time and told us exactly what our money would get us and never went over our budget. Throughout the planning process, Tori was in touch and available and answered every email I sent within minutes. We got to attend complimentary tastings with our moms and try the meals we would offer our guests and the food was amazing! The week of our wedding, the weather on our wedding day called for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. We initially booked the gazebo so we had to move the wedding inside, which would stress some brides out, but not with Tori. I had the utmost confidence in her and she delivered better than I could have ever dreamed. I recommend The Elms to any bride who is looking for a venue that takes care of everything, from centerpieces to food/alcohol to room blocks, without any stress involved. Thank you Tori Foster for making my wedding the wedding of my dreams!!

ay. It was wonderful to have the reception all taken care of and lots of stress lifted off. We had our ideas of how our wedding day and The Elms executed out our plans the way we envisioned. All our questions were answered promptly. Tori did an amazing job and the room was so beautiful , food was amazing and it was the perfect day.

ws of the Elms on the Knot etc., but I ended up being very impressed with the whole experience. I will say that you (as the bride/groom) should own your event... meaning, take responsibility in ensuring every line item is correct and every order/bill is spot on. We were very diligent in reviewing all documentation and plans with Tori and it certainly is one of the main reasons everything went perfectly. There were also more than a couple exceptional members of the Elms team that helped make sure everything went perfectly. The Elms does show as being able to accommodate 300 - but in the fine fine print they’ll point out this is not for sit down dinner. With a band and 275 seats, we did not have enough space for a head table, cake table, room to have either of our two bars IN the ballroom or the gift table. They have a beautiful foyer which allowed us to use that space, but I honestly didn’t know we wouldn’t be able to fit until we started finalizing the room layout a couple weeks before.

the wedding planning. When it got closer to our date and the weather was still looking questionable, she took it all in stride and helped us develop two different plans for the wedding that we could choose depending on the weather. Tori and the staff were great the day before and the day of the wedding. They worked hard with me, my husband and our vendors to make sure our vision became reality day of. They ensured that our day was special for us and made us feel confident on our day. We had to delay the start of our ceremony due to construction in the area preventing some of our other vendors and guests to arrive before the start time, but the staff kept their cool and made things run smoothly once things got going (I honestly didn't know at the time that we had started late and no one gave it away by being panicky or rushing to make things fit the original timeline.). The food was very good and tasty, they even had a little plate of appetizers set aside for us to eat during the dinner so we could enjoy our food choices too, it was very considerate of them to do that and a nice surprise for us. The Elms location is beautiful, even in mid March when flowers and trees haven't yet bloomed, the grounds were beautiful and groomed well. The Regent Ballroom is a fantastic choice for weddings like ours that don't have a huge guest count, it has an intimate and warm feeling and is gorgeous on its own before any decorations. I would highly recommend anyone to use the Elms for their wedding- the venue, history, food and staff make it a great option.

oster began helping me with all the details of our wedding day. There are not words to describe my admiration and respect for Miss Foster. This woman is a godsend and I can confidently say my wedding would NEVER have been as perfect as it was without her. Tori was always on top of everything and went well out of her way to help me on numerous occasions. I was having a difficult time planning this, as I was 500 miles away in Chicago and Tori was there picking up my slack every step of the way. She replied to my emails and calls immediately, she thought of everything I missed, carefully coordinated every minute of the evening with me, and did all of this with one of the best attitudes I have ever seen. None of it was easy, but Tori handled is so graciously, it seemed like second nature to her. I have not met anyone as good at their job as Miss Victoria Foster and I am eternally grateful for her and everything she did for us. The Elms itself was also amazing. When you book your venue through them they help you with EVERYTHING. Tori and Lacee also helped with our guest accommodations at the hotel as well as ours. Thanks to them, there was no stress in that. Every single staff member working at the hotel was great to work with also. Everyone was so kind and nice to us and our guests. Their only priority was that we were all happy and it truly showed. Matt, the manager helping with setup,take down, and food, the day of was extraordinary too. I saw him throughout the night making sure everything was running smoothly, with tori there too obviously! There was another woman, whose name I cannot remember, helping with food and she was very attentative and on top of everything. Our guests loved the food, rooms, atmosphere, EVERYTHING. The Elms really made my wedding magical and I feel forever indebted to each and every staff member there. Thank you guys so SO much!! Much love from the Wilkinsons.

t them know I appreciated their time, but they were too expensive for me. I got an email back explaining their pricing breakdowns for peak season and non-peak season and some insider tips to help make The Elms more affordable to me. It was incredible! Even without having met anyone in person they were already willing to work with me! The Elms was the first venue my fiancé (now husband) and I visited and we really didn't need to see any more. The venue is a dream! The hotel is beautiful and the grounds are gorgeous and well kept. We chose to get married in the outdoor gazebo and have our reception in the Regent Ballroom. My husband and I were engaged for 18 months, and I started planning EARLY. I booked The Elms 15 months in advance... Within that time my credit card expired, the hotel changed owners, and my plan for our wedding changed about 50 times. Throughout all the changes my wedding contact at The Elms was willing to work with me and answer my hundreds of emails. I sent SO many emails... and she answered every single one! Even with I got a little clippy about my guests having issues booking rooms in our room block (the hotel had server issues, but apologized and fixed everything ASAP). I really cannot say enough about my contact at The Elms, she was AMAZING! As long as I asked questions and talked through with her any visions I had, it got done. We only had one issue the day of my wedding and that was due to me not communicating well with my planner. I ordered a lunch tray from an outside vendor to be brought in to us on the day of my wedding and I assumed it was ok to eat in the reception hall so I didn't talk through my plans with her. On the day of we realized we couldn't have our lunch in the reception area at all (whoops!), but my planner found a meeting room for us and got everything set up in time for us to eat and go out for pictures, keeping us on schedule! The Elms requires you use them for food and beverage and sets a minimum you have to spend, which is probably a little more expensive than if you found an outside caterer or bar, but it also comes with a lot (table cloths, settings, centerpieces, chairs, etc...) as long as you are ok working within what they have to offer. When I priced it out on my own it I felt like it was very comparable to what I would have spent elsewhere, but not many other places would have had a planner dedicated to my wedding and helping me. The food is good and we got a lot of compliments from guests! One thing I really loved was by the time we had our final guest count we had "extra money" we needed to use to hit our minimum for food and bev. Our planner worked with us and we were able to use it for additional food and bev during the wedding and over the weekend. They just really work with you and work hard to fit your vision into what they have to offer. We used their in-house sound system and did not have a DJ. Just a Spotify playlist on my phone and rented DJ lights. The sound system was a little screechy, but that was due to user error! Myself and all my bridesmaids got our hair done in the spa and the ladies there did AWESOME! Lastly, I highly suggest having a day of planner hired! The Elms does a lot, but a day of planner is money well spent!

ding dinner was subpar. This was originally a concern because we had eaten dinner at their restaurant "The 88" and was disappointed in the food there. We were re-assured by many that the banquet food would be better. Me and my bride barely ate a few bites of our dinner and many guests were honest when we asked about the food quality. We were all disappointed in the food. The venue is SO amazing....... they REALLY need to find a way to make the food better. They really have it all........... except for the food and that is a major piece. If the food had been better............we would have given 5 stars easily.

and all of details I envisioned came to life with their help and the staff’s help. I recommend The Elm’s for your big day if you want a venue that is classy and elegant!

married there on April 28, 2018 and it was absolutely perfect! Larry O' Gorman and Kara Harrington are the people you want on your wedding team. They worked with us from day one, saw our vision for the day and did everything to make sure it all turned out beautifully. I can't thank them enough. We held the wedding in the huge gazebo, moved to the patio for a cocktail hour and then to the Regent Ballroom for dinner and dancing. The chef prepared a delicious meal and all of the staff was there with smiles on their faces and they did everything to make things run smoothly. I really think everyone should go and see "The Elms". You won't be disappointed!

ur wedding at the Elms. Obviously the grounds, scenery, accommodations, spa and pool were big contributing factors but Kara was overall an amazing person to work with and kept me calm and collected the whole time. We were handed off to another person about 3 months after booking and things seemed fine, but ultimately we ended up back with Kara for better communication. Room blocks were tricky but I can't say this enough, COMMUNICATION IS KEY. I made quite a few trips out to the Elms to go over accommodations for my guests and every time I left I felt better but I would say just about every decision had to be somewhat further explained or renegotiated. The food: I loved the food I tried at my tasting... but it didn't end up being the same dish that was served at our reception. I was disappointed about it but just about everyone was complimenting how delicious it was. If my guests were happy, I was happy. The spa: SO ACCOMMODATING. I had a hair emergency and they were able to get me and 4 others in less than a week before my wedding. Day of: Front desk was helpful and accommodating, although there were a couple rooms not available until after the ceremony for Saturday night guests. I would recommend most guests to stay for 2 nights. I would also highly recommend a day-of coordinator to work with the coordinator at the Elms. Kara did a fantastic job handling everything the Elms was providing but I definitely needed a separate person to oversee outside vendors. Overall: Great experience, but you HAVE to stay on top of everything and constantly be communicating. Our guests had a great time and it was everything I dreamed it would be.

beyond. This space and the event coordinator, Kara Harrington, were absolutely spectacular. From the first visit with Kara she made me feel at ease. She contacted me several times before my event to meet and make sure all details were reviewed which was really important to me because I did not have my own coordinator, she thought of things I hadn’t. The day of the wedding went perfect, the front desk was very helpful with all our out of town guests and made their check in easy. The event staff were professional and food and drink was perfect. The grounds people had manicured the lawns, lined the sidewalks with boston ferns, and planted fall mums for breathtaking pictures. The wedding event space even had a beautiful attached outdoor patio that Kara had laid with lighted candles on each table for those who needed fresh air. The day of the wedding went smoothly with Kara around and I really had nothing to worry about. The convenience of having the wedding and flip to reception went without a hitch! I loved that my whole wedding party had a safe place to stay after the night ended. It was also nice for those with kids, we hired a nanny to stay in a hotel room as the evening grew late so that the little ones could pass out on the couch or bed watching Disney movies while the parents danced the night away! If you want a worry free wedding with beautiful indoor/outdoor space and a responsible, experienced event coordinator then the Elms Hotel and Spa is for you!

ng from the beginning from helping us with the best set up of the room to finding the ways to help us stay under budget but always had our wants and needs in the forefront. Lacee was very thorough in all the details of the ceremony and reception making sure everyone was on the same page when changes were made and making our dream wedding come true.  She was even able to set up a meeting with the chef so we could discuss a specialized menu for our guests. We still get compliments from our friends and family who say it is the best wedding they have ever attended, and I can't thank Lacee and the rest of the staff at The Elms for making our wedding dreams become reality.

and beyond - throughout the entire weekend - to make us feel cared for and valued. We felt as though we had family members helping us all weekend long. Every time we met an Elms employee, they introduced themselves to us and offered to help us in any way we needed. It was because of their impeccable attention to detail and their genuine attentiveness to our needs that our wedding day (and weekend) was completely worry free! I am SO grateful that our wedding day was able to be focused on our love for one another and our friends and family -- rather than executing plans and coordinating logistics. We were able to truly enjoy the day and the people around us! The Elms made our wedding day unforgettable in the most magical way. Our wedding coordinator, Larry O'Gorman, was a true professional and friend throughout the entire planning process and he helped us make our wedding day about US. We never once felt we could not ask Larry for advice or assistance -- he honestly made our dreams come true! I would HIGHLY recommend getting married at the beautiful Elms Hotel! Josh and I could not be more fond of this amazing place and its incredible staff!

unds and spa. The venue was perfect for our wedding of almost 100 with guests from in town and out of town. The Regent room was beautiful and elegant. The food was delicious and we were allowed to customize our menu. We can't wait to go back! I will recommend The Elms to anyone who choses to have a wedding there. Thank you Elms Hotel and Spa for making our wedding celebration a very memorable occasion for years to come.

about the different options and touring the grounds. When we got closer to the actual planning time, we worked with Larry who was a delight and really wanted to make sure we had everything we wanted and needed to make our weekend successful. He was very accommodating and very timely in responding to emails and phone calls. We could have not asked for better people to work with. The front desk staff is another story. Every time someone tried to book a room for just Saturday night on our room block it became a major issue that had us calling the hotel ourselves to sort it out. Half the time, the front desk person would be unable to find our room block in their system and the other half they would try to force the two night minimum even though people could book a room for one night with our room block. Another frustration with the room blocks was the communication from the hotel when we had exceeded our room block count. After running a report, we had to point out we had gone over our contracted amount of rooms, but was told our guests could still book rooms and their rooms would just be added to the block; we didn't need to add more rooms contractually to the block. One weekend while Larry was out of town we ran into the issue again and someone else (Christina maybe?) decided they would no longer honor the Saturday night only bookings since technically we needed to contractually have added more rooms to the block to cover. We ended up with a few people trying to find other hotel accommodations as they lived locally and did not need a hotel room for Friday night. Eventually, Larry was able to accommodate those who needed a room for just Saturday but it had caused some initial stress. The only other frustration came as we had to bring up the fact that it looked like we were under our minimum amount that needed to be spent at The Elms while we were doing final planning - I'm not sure they would have ever mentioned it to us which would mean $2500 of our total would have been money not used on anything towards our wedding, just empty dollars spent. Once we pointed it out, it was very easy for us to arrange a last minute rehearsal dinner and catered day of lunches to get us as close to the $2500 we had left as possible. While it was initially frustrating, it was very easy to work with Larry to get us where we needed to be. I have to say that our rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception were truly amazing. We felt no stress and the captains of both events were absolutely wonderful. The food was fantastic and all of our guests truly loved the wedding and their experience at The Elms - all of the guests we spoke to night of and the next day only had glowing reviews. We heard no complaints or of any issues and could not have had a better wedding day. All in all, you can't go wrong booking your wedding at The Elms. It's a beautiful place and the staff is a delight to work with. We fully recommend The Elms as a wedding venue or a place to book your next event. We loved every minute there and could not have had a better experience.

and personable. Our guests made multiple comments about how nice the staff was. Would definitely recommend.

She answered all our 'silly' questions and spent probably more time that she should have helping us make our day exactly what we wanted. However, right before the wedding, we were switched to another person. This may be how they do it, I'm not sure, and that isn't what bothered me. However, this person did not always get back to us in a timely manner. He would also answer our questions, then change his answers later, causing a lot of confusion and inconsistencies. He did this several times with menu and seating questions. We also had issues with the rooms. We were supposed to have our ceremony in the smaller ballroom, then moved our reception to the larger room. However, they suddenly decided that they weren't sure about that and had us in some disgusting waiting game while they tried to wait for another wedding or party to take over the smaller ballroom so they could make more money. It was super rude and I was very disappointed in the way we were treated. We felt like our wedding simply wasn't a priority to them, especially if they could bring in more money with some other event. That isn't really what we wanted in the days leading up to the wedding. When our weekend came, several guests and people in the wedding party complained about the people running the front desk. Apparently they were rude and short when asked questions such as "would you be able to recommend a good place to eat" and "where are the decorations placed so we can get the decorating started?" I wish I had written down his name, but there was a valet who was absolutely fantastic all weekend. I don't believe he ever stopped working. He was so kind and helpful-- we began sending all our guests to him with questions. The food was superb, as per usual. My fish, however, was cold. It was disappointing, but it still tasted great. I heard nothing but wonderful things from our guests about the waitstaff that night. We loved the head waitress (I know that isn't her title, but she was the lady in charge). She had a great sense of humor and did a wonderful job making sure everything was the way we wanted it. Overall, I hope it is understood that there were a couple positives (food and few great staff members). However, if asked, I would not recommend this place to anyone for their wedding.

t went off without any issues. Our guests raved about their experience at The Elms and we are so happy we chose to have a local "destination" wedding. You can't go wrong when you book here.

ouples. This led to about 3 months of unanswered emails as her email had not been shut down or set to send a generic email notifying of an alternate contact. We were lucky as we booked about 2 years in advance of our date so this did not affect the overall outcome. However, the overall word we got was that they do have a fairly high turnover. I ended up hiring an outside wedding coordinator which I felt was a perfect to aide in communication. Once Larry took over our event, things were pretty much perfect. Larry almost always responded immediately to my emails, and was very patient and understanding. I was so happy to work with him after the earlier situation I endured last fall with the MIA wedding coordinator/employee. We had our ceremony in the Regent Ballroom and the reception in the Grand Ballroom. I think we were the only wedding there that night. If not, it certainly felt like it. Both spaces were perfect for our events. The Regent has so much natural light and allowed for a beautiful transition to a cocktail hour on the patio. The Elms staff was the best part of our wedding space. Everyone from the front desk to the waiters during our reception were fantastic. They were kind and attentive, and I could not have asked for more. Again, in regard to the last 6-12 months or so I would certainly give The Elms 5/5 stars. However, it was unfortunate that before that we felt that we had been forgotten about until we were able to reach out to various Elms employees and managers via Facebook and other avenues to get information on who our new contact was. I think this was likely more a reflection on the previous employee than all of the hotel, but it certainly did make the planning process a little more stressful. The Elms is fortunate to have people like Larry there. Looking back, I have absolutely no regrets on my venue choice. The Elms did everything in their power to make us comfortable and feel welcome. They were receptive and would answer any question we had with a smile. Thank you to Larry, the front desk staff and Susie, the spa staff and manager Jill, the catering staff, etc. You made our wedding day absolutely perfect.

as Lacee Mawby and that was probably the only down side of my experience. Lacee omitted a lot of fees from our conversation- which were also not in the contract- and gave me inaccurate pricing information in response to some of my questions. I don't know its a bait and switch scheme or if she was poorly informed. However, once I was assigned an event coordinator- Christina Pryor - everything went very very smoothly. Christina was amazing at keeping everything on schedule, working with me on the budget, and communicating frequently and promptly. I cannot say enough great things about Christina and other staff I saw the weekend of my wedding. My guests were very pleased with the delicious food (truffle glazed chicken, and sliced pork loin with apples). They were able to accommodate all of my requests and everyone made it feel like a very special day. I think the most valuable thing for me overall when working with the Elm's was the value provided for the cost. Because the hotel offers all you need- linens, caterer, wait staff, hotel, spa- it was so easy to get everything worked out and the price was very competitive. Mine was the only wedding that weekend and I feel like my guests got the best attention possible. I would highly recommend the Elm's for a wedding, reception, or rehearsal.

and Ballroom and the lobby was noisy, but we closed the doors and it didn't really affect our small event at all. Our wedding was on Saturday, and it was amazing. We had around 200 people, and booked over half of the hotel rooms. We had our ceremony in the Regent Ballroom and our reception in the Grand Ballroom. For this reason, no other weddings could be booked that day, and we basically had the place to ourselves. It really was incredible. The staff was so helpful and nice, and everything went off without a hitch. I WILL MENTION that we had some serious communication issues early on in the planning process. (Luckily this was about 8 months before our big day) As others have mentioned, the hotel went through some turnover, and did not communicate well. After trying to email my coordinator for a month, I finally called to talk to her, only to find out that she was no longer there. I was furious for a while, but we quickly got assigned to Larry as our coordinator. LARRY IS A DREAM. He really, truly saved the day and I can't thank him enough. From the time we first met, he did everything in his power to calm my nerves and right some of the wrongs we had experienced previously. He was SO thorough, and emailed me countless times to answer our questions or help us out with specific day-of requests. When it came down to it, we had a PERFECT wedding weekend, surrounded by our family and friends. Everyone had a blast, and it was such a beautiful winter wedding venue. It was also amazing to have everyone all in one place. Guests didn't have to travel if they were staying at the hotel, and it really streamlined the whole weekend. Thank you, The Elms. THANK YOU, LARRY.

atering and service included, and a truly unique setting in the historic hotel. It really seemed like the perfect option all-around, and for the most part, it was. The wedding and reception turned out wonderfully - we had so many compliments from our guests about the setting, the food, the ceremony - everyone loved it. The only headache we had with The Elms was spotty communication. Partially, I think this was an issue we experienced because ours was the first wedding where the reception and dinner were being held entirely outside and as this was something new for them, they weren't quite as prepared as we had hoped. That said, they were very flexible and worked hard (with some convincing) to get us exactly what we wanted. We ended up doing about half the setup ourselves - hanging lights, curtains, decor - which wasn't a problem, just something to be prepared for. My hope is that now that they have tried an outdoor reception, they will feel able to offer it as an option to other brides as it was an absolutely perfect, dreamy setting for our day. I would definitely recommend The Elms to other couples, just be prepared to be on top of communication, especially if you're doing something out of the ordinary. They have a fantastic, patient and hard-working staff who were there for us 110% on the wedding day and pulled off a truly unforgettable day for my family.

e unorganized. I had 2 people quit in the middle of planning my wedding so that made things worse. Be careful too that the Elms does not book another wedding the same day as yours, or better yet the same time! I have heard that the Elms books multiple weddings on the same day. We booked our wedding far in advance and at that time there were not other weddings booked that day. Little did we know the Elms booked a wedding on the same day and time as ours. Thank goodness it did not rain that day because we would have had our wedding ceremony indoors and it would have been in the same ballroom the other wedding was in. That would have been a nightmare if that happened. Overall, a great experience....just a little unorganized on the staff/management part.

customize our weekend. They didn't charge for the tiny extras like many of the other venues did and that made me feel like they valued the experience and didn't want to nickel and dime us. Everything was perfect, from the custom brunch we had planned, to the request to change the room design, everything!! Larry made this day the best of our lives and we are so grateful we had such an amazing venue!!

became our new coordinator, she also quit. It wasn't until April or May when a third individual contacted us. We needed up working with the third individual who turned out to be a great help, but the process was ridiculous. To block of rooms they wanted to charge our guests higher than the normal rate, so that our room would be "free" we refused to make our guests pay extra and paid for ourselves. The day prior and the day of our coordinator was no where to be found until about two hours prior to the ceremony. Nothing was set up prior to and we had the bridal party begging to do the table set up, tablecloths themselves out of time constraints and desperation. None of the employees were accountable, constantly blaming it on someone else, so nothing got done on time. The venues were beautiful and the wait staff was great, in the end everythinf turned out great, however, all of the added stress was not worth the insane price.

The planning process months prior however, was not at all a pleasant experience. We booked the venue in early December and had the wedding in August. We ran into many bumps in the road that made working with The Elms extremely stressful and difficult. Wedding coordinators were very difficult to get a hold of, taking at least 3-7 days to finally get in contact with someone. It didn't matter if you called or emailed, it was also very hard to reach someone/have them call you back. First off, the wedding coordinator that we were working with supposedly lost all of our data because her computer got a virus and deleted everything. To my surprise, especially since the Elms plans events routinely, our information was not backed up or printed. Because of this, we had to have an additional appointment to go over literally everything we had just discussed. We weren't too upset about this, because we know it's important to be patient and flexible because things can happen. But, we had another meeting after this redo meeting to discuss more details or changes, and the wedding coordinator (who was a different lady than previously) had not created the documents that had the grand totals, all the information and ect. She had literally not done any work since we met two weeks prior, and had made up excuses as to why she had not worked on our wedding...so my mother and I wasted hours of our day driving to the appointment when The Elms was not even prepared. You can imagine how frustrated we were since we were less than a month away from the wedding! Finally the day of the wedding came, and The Elms staff were extremely helpful and accommodating. An issue that arose during the reception was that we initially had two bars, but the bartenders decided to close one of the bars, so we only had one bar with one bartender. After numerous attempts of trying to get someone to figure out this issue, they still decided to not keep the other bar open (which is NOT what we wanted), but instead put two bartenders at the one bar. Also, there was some confusion with where all our gifts went. The day of event coordinator (a different lady who we paid $500 for) did not communicate where she was putting the gifts, so numerous family members were running around trying to find the missing gifts. It was annoying because she had already left for the night, which was only about 1.5 hours into the reception... Thankfully we found them, but they were in the wrong room. Overall, the wedding day was wonderful. But if you want to book with The Elms, you must be patient and expect errors to occur. Keep records of all your payments and arrangements because they will most likely lose it. (They tried to charge us twice for the gazebo because they didn't have it in their records that we already paid.) Good luck!

After MANY unanswered phone calls and emails, we were redirected to Christine. We had a few meetings with her and felt like things might work out after all. To our complete disappointment, on the day of the wedding, Lacee nor Christine were anywhere to be found. We had even arranged with the Elms to have a "day of coordinator" and she was no where to be found! Needless to say, I spent my entire day attempting to coordinate things and that is simply unacceptable. So many details fell through the crack because I was trying to be a bride, a coordinator, and Elms staff. There was no one around to help us with pictures, no one to direct us into a room before the wedding (all of my guests saw be before the ceremony because of this), many mistakes with reservations, welcome bags were not handed out, the champagne toast was overlooked, and wedding favors never made it out. The best thing about the Elms is the scenery. Other than that we felt as if our wedding was just another opportunity for them to make money. I would never recommend anyone get married here unless you hire an outside coordinator!!

o tie the knot if you are looking for a vintage style theme & decor. There are tons of places for amazing photos & activities. The town is filled with history too! Our wedding was just weeks after a flash flood & The Elms did it's best to have the Hotel & grounds still looking it's best for our Big Day. It was truly the Best Day Ever! A perfect 85F & staff everywhere to help & assist in any & everything you could possibly need. We chose this venue because of the historical value & ability to have everything all in one place (Venue, Food, Drinks, Hotel, Spa Services, Hair/Makeup, etc.) After a year of planning & then the real thing, here are the pros/cons we'll share w/other couples; Pros: *Gorgeous inside/out *Tons of amazing history *Ability to accommodate large parties (the site says 300 but realistically can't hold more than 250 comfortably) *Indoor/Outdoor options for ceremony *Spa Services!!! *Food is Delicious & there's a good variety to choose from *The GMs & Managers are amazing!!! Staff standouts are Brenton & Sammie Jo! *Rooms are comfortable & beautiful *Massages are fantastic & Grotto is a definite plus. *Bellmen are phenomenal *Ghost Tour is super interesting & fun *Pool & Huge hot tub are great for summer months *5th Floor lounge is perfect for wedding parties before, during, or after the big day. *The Tavern is a great pre-wedding or after reception hang out. *The Elms was great with all our outside vendors. Cons: (no deal breakers, but just a heads-up for future brides) *Large turn-over in staffing (We personally had 5 different wedding coordinators in the yr prior to our wedding resulting in hiring our own planner. We recommend getting your own) *Handling planning by phone is more than difficult. (It took multiple attempts before calls were returned. Hint: Make a friend at the front desk!) *Sound at the Gazebo seems to be an ongoing issue. (We had minor issues & recommend The Elms invest in better equipment.) * FYI: The pool does not close during the ceremony. i.e. large man in speed-o yelling cannonball during your vows makes for funny stories later. We didn't notice, but our guests did. *Some of the rooms were incorrect even after personally verifying bookings days before. (The front desk was amazing & fixed everything as originally planned) *The Food was amazing especially our carving station & the mashed sweet potatoes which our guests are still raving about! We were sad the Chicken Eggplant Parmesan was missing an ingredient (the red sauce!) It still tasted good, all their food does. *The biggest con over anything else was that The Elms booked 3 weddings the same day. We were told there would be 1 other wedding, not 2. We had crashers from the other wedding in our open bar & photo booth which wasn't a big deal but it meant longer lines for our guests. Wish The Elms could have separated the 2 weddings more seamlessly, but understand it was probably difficult for them to know which guests were which. We would definitely choose The Elms again & highly recommend this venue. WE LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF OUR BIG DAY!

was our original coordinator ( 2 years out since our date was 12/13/14 we booked extra early). After about a year after we booked I emailed her since I knew we would slowly be getting busier with the planning. I did not receive an email back from her but from another women named Melissa who was now going to be my coordinator. We worked with Melissa and everything seemed to be going well. we met with her, I sent her picture and I felt confident going into the big day that we were all on the same page. BOY WAS I WRONG! For starters I was promised they would not double book my wedding so boy was I surprised when I walked down to start pictures and there was another bride in the lobby!Getting married just and hour before me! In many pictures from my wedding you look in the background and there is another bridal party!!! So upsetting! Are you kidding! So through all of our picture we were fighting for areas to take pictures. For a day that was suppose to be all about us, it quickly turned around. We were unable to find melissa most the day even though we paid a pretty penny for her to "coordinate" the day of. The picture I sent her months ago on what I wanted the ceremony room to look like (lots of candles down the aisle) was not done at all. I had to text her another picture the day of and they "tried" to make it look like the , but it was not. They had to take candles from the reception since they didn't order enough (even though it was in our contract), so as guests were being escorted out of the ceremony ball room the workers where hustling around trying to move candles. We even had to remind them last minute for a sand ceremony table. Also, we were told since us girls got ready in the presidential suite (the room the bride and groom get the night of the wedding) that it would get cleaned and flipped during the ceremony and reception so it looked nice for us. When we walked in at the end of the night nothing was cleaned. the trash can was full, the table was not moved back after we moved it for my dress, there were glasses everywhere, the bed was not made. It just was a mess and not romantic at all. We have tried contacting the Elm's many times since our wedding (1 month ago) with no response. My parents are about to just show up and talked to someone. I was no bridezilla and stayed calm through the whole mess leading up to the ceremony and kept my mouth shut. But I just wanted to help other brides out and give you a heads up. Although the venue is self is so incredibly gorgeous, If you want a stress free day that caters to you and your family this not the venue for you. If it wasn't for me having a TON of family in town to help the day of it would not of turned out as beautiful as it did.

azebo and the weather was kinda iffy all week. Our coordinator was able to make everything we envisioned happen including using the gazebo outside which was our plan all along. The downfall was that if we couldn't use it we wouldn't get the extra $1000 we paid for it back. So we were happy to be outside with all the natural background and color changing leaves. Beyond the perfect ambiance and an all-in-one package since most of our guests were coming from out of town, the customer service was another important part of picking the Elms. We were a happy bride and groom on our special day!

have done without. The hotel staff, unfortunately, messed up a lot of our hotel reservations. Somehow people's reservations went missing magically...Despite that, everyone had a place to stay and the staff were friendly!

a slight hiccup with scheduling she held my hand the entire way and made sure I was taken care of. Everything else was pretty typical for a place like this. The food was decent but seemed like smaller than average portions. Our guests did have a cocktail hour so hopefully that balanced out the food part. The set-up was nice for the ceremony and they arranged for the room to be flipped for the reception afterwards. Everything was set up very nicely and the servers were GREAT! If I had a need or want for anything all I had to do was ask and they made it happen. The actual hotel was perfect for our wedding. It was true to who we are as a couple. It was a very homey place and the rooms were so comfortable.

t, and the accommodations were wonderful. I would do everything the same again! Sincerely, Lacy and Bret Harvel

communication and hard work was amazing. The day-of was great because I didn't have to worry - Lacee did it for me. I am a perfectionist and too type A for my own good - but I trusted her like she were me! The Elms also did our food - there were 2 things people commented on during and after the wedding: our DJ & food. It was so incredible. The Elms just made everything perfect. Seriously - worth every cent we spent.

rful however and the venue was beautiful, but the staff overstepped their boundaries. I had my best friend (who is gay) at my wedding with her girl friend and one of the elms employees told her that she shouldnt be dancing with her girlfriend around so many people....The keg ran out of CO2 and they couldn't get it replaced fast enough and started charging guests for beer, The food actually made my groom and mother-in-law sick (as well as about 10 more of my guests) They don't let you cater in, and for 6 grand, it was totally NOT worth it. If you want a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the gazebo, it's a thousand dollars, but I would suggest having your reception elsewhere. The staff was also supposed to go up and freshen our rooms, that didnt happen either. It was a beautiful ceremony and we were surrounded by our friends and family but too much went on that I, as the bride had to stress about. It's not a great start to a honeymoon when your groom is throwing up.

e experienced at the Elms was our dinner. The food and cocktails were delicious at the restaurant on the first floor, but even though they were NOT very busy at all, we got really bad service. I mean, I was sitting at the center of the table with a great big pink BRIDE sash on, and yet we sat for a lot of the night with empty glasses. You'd think we would have been more of a priority they could have capitalized on, but our dinner took THREE hours, and we only had two rounds of drinks. So we were largely neglected, which was too bad. Aside from that, our experience at the Elms was a lot of fun, I would definitely recommend it for anyone's bachelorette party :)

ob on hair and makeup, the food was outstanding, and the front desk staff was incredibly helpful to me and my guests.

at The Elms was very accommodating and able to provide a relaxing atmosphere for our wedding party and guests alike. The vintage atmosphere matched with some updated decor and amenities make The Elms Hotel and Spa a signature location for an amazing wedding.

are easy to work with on pricing and accomodations. So glad this is where we decided to get married- it is just beautiful!

inator, and she was wonderful as well. The day of the wedding we had a minor mix up with the florist and she went above and beyond to make sure we were happy(Nancy went out and got us our roses for the mothers rose ceremony). We had plated dinners(salmon,chicken, and vegetarian) they were all wonderful. If i had to do my wedding all over again i would still have picked the elms as my venue. I loved everything about it!

beautiful weddings they have ever been too! Thank you to the elms!

said and done, was that we had paid extra to have them as the wedding coordinator - and I feel we should've done that separately. The gal we had the day of the wedding was not the one we had been talking with throughout the planning process so she didn't know everything. When we asked her to call the photobooth as they weren't there yet she asked if we had the number, but we had provided all the numbers to the other gal. The gal we had also didn't give all the boutonnieres out - she came and got them all, so where the extra two ended up I'm still not sure. Overall though it was good. We had a few communication issues at the beginning, but things were straightened out and I really do think they did all they could to make up for the fact that the renovations weren't done yet. If you want a beautiful outdoor location with the ability to have a indoor backup incase of bad weather and a close indoor reception - it's a great location. The walk to the gazebo is a bit long, but it's still gorgeous! And the fact that the gazebo could sit all of our guests was huge to us! The food was great at our reception! The rehearsal dinner wasn't exactly what we expected but I guess that's what we get for not having something we tasted before hand... email can only convey so much. Sadly we weren't able to make it to one of their main tastings because it wasn't available early enough for us to get our invites out in time. However, they did set up a special tasting for us to figure our reception dinner. This was great and we were able to discuss the menu with the chef and make changes to the dishes (they were in between menus at the time).

dding was a success. Lacee, our wedding coordinator, was amazing and VERY helpful!! We did have some issues, however, the Elm's made right with the issues that was their fault. We were very appreciative of that. My biggest complaint would be the salon, especially while under construction, & not getting from them what I truly expected to. For such a high end salon, it was not a great experience. Overall, our wedding went great and was absolutely beautiful!

omfortable as possible, and keeping our event beautiful. Our guests RAVED about the experience and I plan to go back for our anniversary every year!

he renovation wasn't complete by my wedding date but everything I needed for my wedding was done. When the renovation is complete it will be the best, most inclusive, wedding venue in the Kansas City area! I was able to have my ceremony, reception, hotel, and hair/makeup all at one location! Made my day much easier without all of the travel! Definitely worth every penny!

all of the arrangements for me! It POURED down rain that day but our wedding was safe due to the Elms accommodations. I decided also did own flowers and they let us work in a nice, secluded room and kept it nice and cool for the flowers. The ballrooms were both stunning and the food was great. I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to the staff as well. They were so great helping set up and tear down. They help us clean up all of our flower settings, cake and candy tables, and more all within an hour of the wedding ending. I would say the only issue we had was booking of rooms. The Elms was still under renovation when our wedding happened and there weren't enough rooms done. However, the staff tried to help out as much as possible. This also shouldn't effect any other wedding once all the renovations are done.

ced they were closing for 5 months and wouldn't be opening until April 2012. Even though not everything was complete with the hotel when our wedding arrived, everything turned out just perfect! Lacee was our wedding coordinator there and she was amazing! She made sure everything was how we wanted and that we were very happy at all times. We would DEFINITELY recommend them to anyone!

e that had some history. We had our ceremony in the outdoor gazebo in fall (breathtaking) and the evening reception an hour and a half later in the Regent Ballroom. Absolutely STUNNING at night! The staff were beyond wonderful! I worked with Lacee and I couldn't have pulled off this day without her. She is an absolute GEM! She was sweet, polite, thoughtful, organized and she has a genuine desire to help make your wedding day the most amazing day it could possibly be. I was the least stressed bride I've ever known. Lacee helped me to ENJOY my wedding and reception! The food was wonderful! I worked with the head chef to customize our menu and it was absolutely delicious! Lacee and her team helped us to execute every detail of our wedding in a seemingly effortless manor. I am forever grateful for everything they did for us! Brides, if you want elegance and beauty at a reasonable price, you can't go wrong with The Elms! Truly a five star vendor. With our thanks, Melissa and Brad Jennings

lt for the guests to make their room reservations. The food was good at the tasting but I was very disappointed with my meal the day of the wedding. The overall outcome and vision was accomplished in the end but the process was difficult.

ith a woman named Lacee. Soon after, Lacee was no where to be found (until the week prior to the wedding) and without introduction, Amanda was our coordinator. She turned out to be a very sweet girl, but seemed to have very little authority! Everything we did we had to check in with somebody, sometimes that somebody was Lacee!! We had some trouble with the food as well! We wanted to try it before we served it to our guests. This seemed to be an out of the ordinary request. We did attend an open house less than a month before our wedding to try the food. We ended up not liking any of the main course dishes, but it was too late to try anything else before the wedding. We then decided on a heavy hors d'vours option, but had to then rely sole on Amanda's opinion of the food! She did an AMAZING job by the way! All of her suggestions came out wonderfully. During the Rehearsal and our stay the staff was absolutely wonderful. They were very attentive, and easy to work with. They seemed more than happy to help us with anything, and kept us as comfortable as possible! The end result was more than we could have ever dreamed, but it was a difficult planning process!

n't get stressed. I wanted the ballroom to be decorated with lots of personal touches and they didn't have any problems with anything that I wanted to do to the room, and even helped make sure everything got done! I didn't have any complaints and would reccomend the Elms to any brides who are looking for a BEAUTIFUL, charming place for thier wedding!!

ehearsal there and our ceremony and reception. She made sure the vendors were all on the same page with each other behind the scenes and was very easy to work with. We had planned on an outdoor wedding in their gazebo (which is beautiful!) but it rained on my wedding day. Amanda was quick to speak with me and allowed me to think over whether I wanted it inside due to the rain. She was patient with my decision and also gave me the facts I needed to make a good decision. At 4 pm I made my decision to have the wedding inside (the wedding started at 6). Amanda and the staff got right to work and were able to create a beautiful atmosphere in less than an hour. It turned out to be a fantastic location in their reception hall, and multiple people complimented me about the intimacy of the venue and that it was the "best wedding they had ever been to" and would have never dreamed we had originally planned it to be outside. Amanda was so organized that the wedding went without any problems other than the rain, I had no stress with the planning or the ceremony. The rehearsal was very efficient and organized due to Amanda's excellent facilitation. The only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is because there was a policy change after our contract was signed. We were originally told we could bring our own alcohol selection and were going to get a fantastic deal from a family friend who owned a liquor store. The Elms backed away from this with their new policy after we had made arrangements to receive alcohol from elsewhere and stated we would have to use their hotel selection and could not bring in alcohol with the corkage fee we were originally told about, so we were unable to have the alcohol we anticipated and had to pay more than we originally planned on spending on alcohol due to the policy change. We had wished they would have honored what they originally told us in regards to liquor. However, if that was the only problem, I'd say they did an excellent job meeting our needs. The Elms is absolutely lovely, rustic, and historical. The staff is courteous, helpful, smart, and efficient.I couldn't ask for a better wedding location.

made that part stress free. The tables were decorated with centerpeices and we added some of our own to have a Hawaiian feel.